Sighting device



April 16, 1957 w, BRANDT 2,788,599

' SIGHTING DEVICE Filed. Oct. 50, 1951 INVENTOR.

MMW

ATTORNEYS United States Patent SIGHTING DEVICE Edgar William Brandt, Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to Anstalt fiir die Entwicklung von Erfindungen und Gewerhlichen Anwendungen Energa, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, a corporation of Liechtenstein Application October 30, 1951, Serial No. 253,799

2 Claims. (Cl. 42-1) This invention relates to a sighting and launching device for rifle grenades, of the type comprising a sleeve adapted to be fitted to the muzzle end of the barrel of the firearm.

The device according to the invention comprises a sight member articulated or hinged on the body of said sleeve to be folded over on to the latter, the cross-section of the sight member being such as to fit over the sleeve supporting it when in the folded-over position.

By virtue of this arrangement, a unit easily transportable in a suitable case is obtained. Moreover, as the sight member can be folded over the sleeve, these two parts of the device protect one another during transportation and handling.

The sight member and also the firing sleeve are parts which must be exposed to the least possible strain and shock, otherwise firing incidents may occur, such as an error of sighting if the sight is deformed or the jamming of the grenade if the sleeve is damaged.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cross-section of the sight member has the general shape of a U. In this manner, on the one hand, its strength is increased and, on the other hand, the sleeve is protected at least over a part of its length, when the sight member is in the folded position.

Said sight member preferably comprises at its base a locking means adapted to fix it rigidly in the firing position and in the folded position.

In order to enable the invention to be more readily understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example, one embodiment thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 shows a grenade placed on the firing sleeve; and

Figures 2 and 3 are views in elevation and in plan, on a larger scale, of the device of the invention.

The sleeve 1 illustrated has a sight member 2 (2a in the sighting and firing position) enabling the firer to sight by aligning the target on a straight line tangent to the body of the grenade 3 and passing through the sight notch 7 correspond to the range required. (Figure 1).

The sight member 2 is articulated or hinged for raising and lowering about the pivots which engage the legs of the U-shaped sight member and the sleeve 1, these pivots 4 being shown with their horizontal axis intersecting the common axis of the firearm barrel and the sleeve 1, and being located (Fig. l) rearwardly of the portion of the sleeve which receives the grenade tail. The base or rear end of the sight member has on each side two bosses 5 and 6 which, in the firing or folded positions, engage in corresponding recesses in the sleeve, so that in these positions the sight member is rigidly fixed. The sight marks or notches 7 cut in the sight member 2 are ice staged in accordance with the ranges to be obtained, for example 50, and metres.

The body of the sleeve has sealing collars 8, a slightly ovalised ring 9, and, at its rear end, a fastening device 10, enabling it to be mounted on the end of the barrel of the firearm.

The present invention enables the firer to handle his arm over the ground with the sleeve fixed to the barrel, without risk of damage to the sight member, since the latter is in the folded position. At the time of sighting, the firer raises the sight member and locks it in the sighting and firing position.

It is obvious that the invention has been described only by way of example and that, without departing from its scope, various modifications may be made therein.

What I claim is:

l. A folding self-protecting sighting and firing device for a grenade launching firearm having a barrel, the said grenade having a hollow tail section, comprising a launching sleeve adapted to fit over and be attachable to the barrel at the muzzle end thereof and adapted to fit within the said hollow tail section of said grenade, a sight member having sighting marks along its length and having a U-shaped cross section adapted to fit over and be in close contact with said sleeve when said member is in the folded position, and means located on said sleeve rearwardly of the grenade tail receiving portion thereof and engaging the said member at both sides thereof for the pivotal hinging of the said member relative to the sleeve to and from a sighting and firing position at an angle to the bore of the said barrel and a folded position along and covering a grenade-receiving portion of the sleeve forwardly of said pivot means with the U-shaped member in close contact with the sleeve over said portion, whereby the sleeve and the member protect one another during transportation and handling.

2. A folding self-protecting sighting and firing device for a grenade launching firearm having a barrel, the said grenade having a hollow tail section, comprising a launching sleeve adapted to fit over and be attachable to the barrel at the muzzle end thereof and adapted to fit within the said hollow tail section of said grenade, a sight member having sighting marks along its length and having a U-shaped cross section adapted to fit over and be in close contact with said sleeve when said member is in the folded position, and means located on said sleeve rearwardly of the grenade tail receiving portion thereof and engaging the said member at both sides thereof for the pivotal hinging of the said member relative to the sleeve to and from a sighting and firing position at an angle to the bore of the said barrel and a folded position along and covering a grenade-receiving portion of the sleeve forwardly of said pivot means with the U-shaped member in close contact with the sleeve over said portion, whereby the sleeve and the member protect one another during transportation and handling, said sleeve and said sight member having cooperating boss and recess portions whereby the said sight member is held fixed in its said sighting position and in the said folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,416,287 Coates et al. Feb. 25, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 61,159 Denmark July 19, 1943 904,505 France Mar. 5, 1945 

